Therapeutic magnet



Oct. 24, 1961 N. J. BROOK ETAL THERAPEUTIC MAGNET Filed Dec. 29, 1958 FIG. I

FIG. 3

RET/CULUM SECOND 5 TOMA CH INVENTORS LOU/5 E LONGO By N/LE5 d. BROOK ATTORNEYS U ed S at Pa v 3,005,458 THERAPEUTIC MAGNET Niles I. Brook and Louis P. Longo, Glastonbury, Conn., assignors to The Fargo Corporation, South Glastonbury, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut j Filed Dec. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 783,443 1 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-356) Thisinvention relates to'devices for preventing hardware disease and more particularly to an improved therapeutic magnet efiective in such treatment.

Hardware disease is the name that has been given to the sicknessand injury produced when cattle and the like consume metallic foreign matter.

Under normal circumstances, metal in a cows stomach will irritate but not puncture the stomach lining, thereby causing the animal to defer from its normal feeding habits andproduce ailments known popularly as Off- Feed," Bloat, Indigestion and Off-production. However, if the animal is pregnant, the combined pressure of feed that has been consumed and the carrying of the calf'can cause heart, lung and liver puncture that may result in death.

It is therefore a primary object of the instant invention to provide a therapeutic device which can be inserted into the cows stomach and which will remain there to collect magnetic foreign matter and hold it in such a way as to substantially eliminate injury to the animal's stomach and adjacent body organs.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a therapeutic device which will remain in the stomach of the animal to perform its therapeutic effect over a substantial period of time without creating a secondary animal illness as a result of corrosion, etc.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a device which will serve to collect all ferrous scrap metal in the cow's stomach in a single location, thereby to simplify the performance of a rumenotomy.

It is a further object to provide a simple and inexpensive therapeutic device which minimizes critical losses due to hardware disease while at the same time, reducing'the need for expensive surgery or drugs.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the therapeutic magnet;

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the magnet shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines 2'2; and

' FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a portion of a cows anatomy showing the general location during use of the therapeutic magnet.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is seen that a preferred embodiment of applicants therapeutic magnet designated generally as is provided with a generally flat center body portion 11 having enlarged side edges 12 and 13 thereby to provide a dog bone cross section most clearly seen in FIG. 2. Upper portion 14 of edge 12 and upper portion 15 of edge 13 define a groove 16 therebetween which extends throughout the length of magnet 10. In a similar manner, groove 17 is defined by lower portions 18 and 19. As most clearly seen in FIG. 1, grooves 16 and 17 extend throughout the length of magnet 19 and are of substantial depth. Magnet 10 has its ends 8 and 9 oppositely magnetized in a permanent manner so that grooves 16 and 17 extend from north to south pole. All exposed edges of the magnet are rounded so as to provide the magnet with a smooth peripheral configuration thereby to minimize any damage tothe stomach lining of the animal by the magnet itself.

Further advantages of this therapeutic device as well as features of its construction can best be explained and appreciated with a description of its operation taken in conjunction with the drawings and particularly with ref erence to FIG. 3 which schematically illustrates the use of the therapeutic magnet of this invention to treat a cow. The magnet is fed to the cow with a standard balling gun, after which it settles to the bottom of the reticulum where the swallowed hardware normally collects. posely eat considerable quantities, of metal such as nails, wire, staples, barbs, etc. This metal has been found to settle in the second stomach of the cow, and, since the instant therapeutic magnet has the general characteristics of scrap metal, the magnet will also settle in the second stomach. Once deposited in the stomach of the cow, the magnet of this invention remains .there to collect the scrap metal.

heart thereby making collection of sharp metal objects and the positioning of these objects in a protected position a matter of critical importance if injury to these parts of the animal anatomy is to be prevented.

In the preferred embodiment, the magnet 10 is made of a material such as Alnico-V" or other non-corrosive material such as barium ferrite so that it Will not corrode in the cows stomach nor lose its magnetic power over long periods of use. Since the magnet has oppositely poled ends, it will tend to collect scrap metal along its length. That is, a nail would most probably be drawn lengthwise against the magnet so as to be held within the grooves 16 or 17 and position the sharp point against the magnet within the grooves to protect the stomach wall. The oppositely poled ends of magnet 10 also lessen the possibility that a sharp object will assume a position cross-wise to the groove, a position which would increase the chance of stomach wall puncture.

The grooves 16 and 17 also provide a larger magnet surface area thereby to prevent serious weakening of the magnet field as scrap metal is collected and held by the magnet as well as enabling the magnet to hold a heavier load of hardware. The elongated flat shape and low center of gravity of magnet 10 tend to prevent rolling within the second stomach so as to prevent additional irritation to the animals. The shape of magnet 10 also tends to prevent imbedding of the magnet in the honeycomb lining of the stomach wall where it would be ineffective to collect scrap metal.

The magnet of the instant invention can be used before a rumenotomy to collect scrap metal in one location and minimize the problems of metal collection once the stomach wall has been opened by surgery. It has been found that the instant magnet will, because of its strength and shape, actually withdraw metal which has been imbedded in the stomach lining so as to remove the cause of irritation. Of course, the magnet can also be used directly after a rumenotomy, thereby to lessen chance of further damage of scrap metal that the cow eats. However, the use of the magnet need not be related to a rumenotomy operation, since its insertion into the stomach acts to collect the scrap metal already there and'position it in a protected position along the length of the magnet so as to minimize possible injury to the cow.

In actual practice, it has been found that an Alnico- V magnet approximately 3%" long, "K wide or approximately 4 of the length, having a thickness of approximately or approximately of the width, having Patented Oct. 24, 1961 As previously described, cattle accidentally or put-'' As mostclearly seen in FIG. 3, the second stomach of a cow is adjacent the diaphragm and sponges a groove depth of aproximately or approximately of the thickness, having a weight of approximately 4 ounces, and having all exposed corners convexly outward- 1y rounded, functions effectively to collect scrap metal and position it on the magnet in a protected position for mature cows as well as steers and calves.

It is therefore seen that the instant invention provides an. economical solution to a long standing problem in the dairy cattle and other industries. The use of the instant invention does not produce any undesirable side efiects. in the behavior or health of the animals with which it is used. The magnet can also be used as a supplement to rumenotomy operations, both before and after, so as to minimize the associated problems.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above 1 described will become readily apparent without departure from. the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claim.

we claim:

A therapeutic magnet for use in the treatment and prevention of hardware disease in animals, comprising an elongated generally flattened bar of magnetic material dimensioned to fit within the reticulum of the animal and having its ends oppositely magnetized in a permanent manner, said bar being further dimensioned so that its width is approximately of its length and its thickness is approximately of its width, said bar having a first groove formed in the widest surface thereof and extending throughout its length from north to south pole, said first groove having a width occupying a major portion of the bar surface and having a depth of approximately of its thickness, a second groove formed in the face of said magnet opposite to said first groove, said second groove being identical to the first groove so as to provide a bar having a generally H-shaped cross section that is symmetrical about the longitudinal axis thereof, each exposed corner of said bar being convexly outwardly rounded to minimize injury to the reticulum of the animal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,599,047 Clark June 3, 1952 2,750,716 Sangster June 19, 1956 2,753,870 Mufily July 10, 1956 2,799,274 Eisenhut July 16, 1957 2,853,075 Hoffman Sept. 23, 1958' FOREIGN PATENTS 57,695 Netherlands June 15, 1946 736,197 Germany June 9, 1943 

